▲ The Singapore Robot Delegation and Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement officials introduce one another at the Robot Industry Promotion Conference Room.

In an effort to strengthen their collaborative work with Singapore, which has seen a rapid increase in demand for robots, the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement(KIRIA) has invited a Singapore Robot Delegation to Korea, from September 11 to September 14 to make the rounds of Korean robot-related companies and organizations.

A total of 8 institutions and 13 people are included in the Singaporean Robot Delegation, representing Singapore’s robot-related government agencies, universities and other organizations representing demand such as the Singapore Economic Development Board, e2i, SSG, and PBA groups. The delegation will visit institutes such as the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement (KIRIA), the Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence (KIRO), Korea National Rehabilitation Center, as well as Hyundai Robotics, World ENG, IEG and Daejeon Techno Park to assess the viability of advancing the Korean robot industry within Singapore.

▲ Singapore’s e2i CEO Gilbert Tan(right), and Bong-hyun Baik, head of the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, take a commemorative photo after the MOU signing.

To coincide with this visit, Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement hosted Singapore’s e2i (CEO Gilbert Tan) on the 11th, where they discussed bringing in robots to the workplace, and entered into a business agreement for joint cooperation.

The Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) was established in 2008 as an employment and employment support organization under the Ministry of Employment and Labor in Singapore. Although it has been providing employment training and re-employment training for about 500,000 people, introducing robots will help companies to improve their productivity and improve working conditions. The Inclusive Growth Programme has been set up to help facilitate this. In addition, an industrial robot training program for industry workers and job seekers is also in the works.

▲ The respective parties commit to a successful collaboration.

The agreement mainly seeks a collaborative effort to: ▲ Establish a cooperative network between the Korean and Singaporean robot fields ▲ Introduce and utilize robots to improve productivity in Singapore and using worker robots to educate ▲ Support the exchanges and collaborative businesses between the two countries.

▲ Singapore Robot Delegation Surround Standards Testing Center of KIRIA

e2i aims to improve the productivity of Singapore's industrial sites and to improve the working conditions of its workers. Through this MOU, hopes are high of exports of Korean robot products and of providing content to train workers in the use of robots.

▲ The Singapore Robot Delegation visits KIRO in Pohang, Gets tour from the President of the Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence, Chul-hyu Park(2nd from right).

Ryu, Ji Ho, Robot Industry Promotion Division Executive Director at Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement observed, "Singapore has had a continued phenomenon of shortage of labour due to their aging population and restricted immigration policies. As a result, the government is leading efforts to use robots to resolve this issue.” He continued, “Based on this agreement with e2i, we will continue to actively support Korean robot companies in their efforts to penetrate Singapore’s robot market.”